This Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl is filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and feta and drizzled in a simple, homemade tzatziki sauce, making it a healthy vegetarian meal.

Meatless Mondays should always look like this Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl! It’s a delicious way to incorporate quinoa into your diet, and a healthy, gluten free and vegetarian recipe.

Honestly, this recipe couldn’t be easier. Once the quinoa is cooked, you’ll add the chopped veggies, sprinkle it with cheese and drizzle it with the tzatziki sauce. If you’re someone who likes quinoa but doesn’t love it, I have a feeling this bowl will change your mind. 

Speaking of quinoa, be sure to check out my caramelized onion quinoa and my stuffed zucchini boats. Both are easy, healthy vegetarian recipes that I know you’ll love (if you haven’t already tried them!).

Recipe features 

• An easy bowl recipe to meal prep and make ahead for the week
• Filled with tons of veggies like tomatoes, cucumber and red onion, and easy to customize to your liking
• This Mediterranean quinoa bowl is drizzled with the most delicious homemade “dressing”: tzatziki sauce!  

Ingredients

Quinoa: This is the base of the bowl, but if you’re really not a quinoa fan, try using rice or farro instead. The quinoa can easily be prepped a day or two in advance to speed this recipe up even more! 

Tomatoes: Grape or cherry, though you can use any variety.

Red onion: I don’t recommend omitting, but if you want something less intense, try shallot. 

Cucumbers: No substitution; I typically use English cucumbers because they’re easy to find. 

Feta cheese: Or use goat cheese

Tzatziki sauce: For this, I used Greek yogurt, fresh dill, lemon juice, garlic, and cucumber. It’s ready in 5 minutes, and the homemade version is much better than store-bought. 

Instructions 

Step 1: Cook quinoa. Add quinoa and water to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then, cover the pan with a lid and simmer the quinoa until it’s cooked, approximately 15-20 minutes. 

Step 2: Prep the vegetables. While the quinoa is cooking, slice the tomatoes in half, dice the onion and then cut the cucumber into fourths.

Step 3: Make the tzatziki sauce: Add all of the ingredients to a small blender or food processor and pulse for a few seconds until mostly smooth. 

Tips and tricks

• Always rinse quinoa before using it! To do so, simply add quinoa to a fine mesh strainer, then run cold water over it for at least 1 minute to remove any bitterness from it.
• To make the onion slightly less bitter, simply add it to a bowl and cover it with water for 10 minutes or so, then drain and rinse the onion before adding it to the recipe.
• I used my Nutribullet blender to make the tzatziki and it worked great.
• Feel free to add an extra clove of garlic to the tzatziki if you want it to be a little more garlicky. 

What else could I add to this bowl? 

Many things! If you want to bulk this bowl up, try adding kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, sliced roasted red peppers, crunchy roasted chickpeas, cooked chicken, cooked kale or spinach, and/or a drizzle of olive oil over the entire bowl. 

Should this be served warm or cold? 

Either one! I typically eat it cold and Miguel typically warms it up — it’s totally up to you! 

Quinoa salad pairs well with: 

• Lamb Burgers
• Lemon Orzo Salad — uses similar ingredients, so they’re easy to prep together
• Baked Paleo Meatballs
• Baked Mediterranean Cod
• Air Fryer Lamb Chops
• Baked Caprese Chicken

Storage

Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 

Meal prep: If you want to make this bowl for the week, add the quinoa to a container, the prepped veggies to a separate container and last, the tzatziki to a jar. Then, combine everything before you’re ready to eat! 

More Mediterranean recipes

• Mediterranean Lamb Bowl
• Mediterranean Hummus Bowl
• Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks! 

UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in May 2015. It was updated with new text and photos in June 2022.